The Letters Home Paradigm
by linzay19
Summary: While on his summer journey, Sheldon writes letters to Amy telling her about his adventure. Along the way, through his letters, Sheldon begins to find himself and rediscover everything that he loves most in his life.
1. Prologue

This is a story I've had going in my head for a bit but I was taking a break from writing for a bit. However, I am back and ready to go. Enjoy!

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It had been a few days since Sheldon got on the train headed anywhere that was not Pasadena. For the first time in his life, he didn't have a plan. He had no idea where he was going or what he was going to do when he got there. The only thing that he knew was that he just needed a break.

As the train sped on, Sheldon looked out the window, watching the trees pass him by. He was lost in his thoughts when it suddenly occurred to him that he should check in with Amy. He looked at his watch and realized that she would be at work. Not wanting to disturb her, Sheldon thought of sending her a quick e-mail. As he reached in his bag for his phone, he saw a notebook and pen. He thought for a second before pulling them out instead of his phone.

He opened the notebook to the first blank page and got to work. There was something oddly refreshing about putting pen to paper for Sheldon. He could not remember the last time he had actually handwritten a letter to anyone. He knew that he could always type it into an e-mail later and send it to her, but, for now, he was more comfortable writing his thoughts on paper. It allowed him to edit everything before sending it to Amy.

_Amy,_

_I hope all is well with you. I would have called you to check in, but I knew that you would be at work and I did not want to disrupt you._

_I'm thinking about going to visit my mother and Meemaw. I'm sure that by now, Penny has already called my mother to tell her that I left town and she will be concerned that her son is missing. Honestly, I don't know why Penny always feels the need to involve my mother. I am an adult, after all. I think I can handle this on my own._

_I spoke to Leonard on the phone earlier and he said that you were worried about me. You can rest assured that I am fine. I thoroughly inspected the train for hobos and I am happy to report that there were none. I also brought a small bottle of disinfectant so that I could spray my seat before we left. I got a few odd looks from other patrons. I don't know what they found so strange about cleanliness._

_Leonard also brought it my attention that perhaps I should have given you a proper goodbye before I left. This is one of the few times that I actually agree with him. Please allow me to apologize for just leaving without telling you. Everything was changing and you know of my distaste for change. I just needed a break to re-evaluate what was happening. You are my girlfriend and there are clauses in our relationship agreement for these sorts of things. _

_We are pulling into the train station now. I will check in again soon._

_Sheldon_

Sheldon knew that it was going to be a long summer, but he needed this. He needed the break away from everything to figure out what he was going to do next. If nothing else, he knew that much.

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Sorry it's so short. This is only the prologue. I'll update soon. :)


	2. The Second Letter

Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a review. They were lovely! This chapter is a bit short as well, but they will get longer as the story continues. Enjoy!

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It was the middle of the night and Sheldon couldn't sleep. He wasn't sure what had been troubling him so much that it would disrupt his usual sleep schedule. Whatever it was, he wasn't going to figure it out tonight. He got up from his childhood bed and made his way over to his desk and took out the notebook out of his bag. He flipped to a blank page and began to write.

_Amy,_

_As expected, Penny did call my mother. She was less than pleased with me when I arrived at her house earlier today. I suppose that I can understand where she is coming from. I am still her son. But, as I explained to her after she was through yelling at me, I am a grown man and I am fully capable of taking care of myself. She then told me to go to my room until I could learn to stop talking back to her._

_I found myself unable to sleep tonight. I'm not sure what the cause could be. I have stuck to my regular sleep schedule. I seem to have a lot of thoughts going through my mind and I cannot sort through them properly. I have a sneaking suspicion that it is jet lag. I think that I will go make a cup of tea when I finish writing this letter._

_You sounded sad on the phone earlier. I hope everything is okay. I would offer you a hot beverage, however, that would be difficult with me being in Texas and you being in California. Perhaps I will get that hot beverage for you when I return home._

_I do believe that is social protocol that I ask you what is wrong regardless of where we are physically. Is Penny being difficult with the wedding planning? Are you having trouble with your research? I do hope that it is nothing serious. Perhaps we can discuss it during our next phone call._

_Missy brought my nephew over when our mother told her that I was home. He has grown quite a bit since I last saw him. He is, however, not showing any signs of being another child prodigy like myself, which is a great shame. I guess my superior intellect is like lightening; it never strikes the same place twice._

_I'm going to see my Meemaw tomorrow. I talked to her on the phone not long after I called you. She said that she is really excited to see "my little moonpie." I am hoping that she will be able to help me decide what direction to go in regards to my research. She doesn't know much about science, but she has always had a way with her words that I have found comforting._

_I'm not sure how long I will be in Texas or where I will go after I leave. The university is giving me a sabbatical. I should hope they would after they blatantly refused to allow me to switch my field of study. They should be lucky that I did not quit all together. Having someone with my knowledge is a privilege that they should recognize. Regardless, I am thankful that they are letting me take the time off to clear my head._

_It's getting rather late, so I should try to get some sleep. My mother likes everyone to be up bright and early for breakfast. I will talk to you soon._

_-Sheldon_

Sheldon looked at the clock in his room and realized that he had spent the last two hours writing his latest letter to Amy. He never thought that it would be this hard to talk to her, but he recently found himself dreading is daily phone calls with her. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to her, but when the conversation was over, he felt the sting of loneliness, and it was growing stronger everyday. He missed her, but he wasn't ready to admit it to himself quite yet.

He put the notebook back in his bag and made his way to the kitchen to make himself some tea. When it was finished, he took a sip and it instantly reminded him of Amy. His chest tightened at the memory before he shook it out of his head. After he drank all of the tea, he went back to his room and tried to fall asleep. He knew that tomorrow was going to be a long day.


End file.
